Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have never been charged by a hotel to charge my car
Power isn't free, you're paying for it somehow.
True, but in the sense that all guests subsidize EV users.
Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
421–430 of 834 posts
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#422Earlier quoted context omitted.
Had an awesome experience with a Hertz Polestar in Italy last summer. The trim was basic, but the suspension was superior to a Tesla, especially on Italian roads. Road noise was average at highway speeds with the cheaper trim.
I had a mostly great experience with Hertz Polestar in Switzerland. Easy to drive, did well on the road. The most painful part of the experience was attempting to charge it before returning it. Finding a compatible, working L3 charger was very difficult, even in Zurich and the experience of downloading an app to start the charging process was terrible. It of course, didn't accept my non-Swiss credit card and I had a…
> It of course, didn't accept my non-Swiss credit card
If I can't use the vehicle without needing to carry a working cellular-connected computer running a specific operating system in my pocket and/or having a specific category of bank card, that's a hard 'no' for me. Either have the car negotiate payment with the charging network or give me the option of handing currency to a person at a register. Otherwise I insist on a dino car.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#423Not sure about the economics for the rental companies, but for a consumer, there are practical reasons why electric aren't quite as attractive. When you rent a car, more than likely you will be in unfamiliar territory. So it seems that it just adds to the stress of travel and yet another thing you have to pay attention to. Will my hotel have charging spots? Will I be able to charge at the client site I'm visiting? Ho…
I don’t see how that’s different than needing to figure out gas station locations and not knowing how much you’ll use between points since you don’t know traffic or efficiency of that vehicle.
I don't love looking for gas stations before returning a vehicle, but I know I can find one within a few minutes, they will pretty much always be "functional" and available, and it will take only a few minutes to fill up.
With an EV, I might have to go 10+ minutes out of my way (doubled for roundtrip), they might not work, and they might be full. And if I have to return with 80% charge or higher, it could easily take 30 mins or more of charging.
Also, it's really easy for the rental place to see exactly what percent you returned it with. In gas cars, as long as you're in the ballpark of "full" you're usually good to go, partly because there's not an easy way for the rental clerk to tell exactly how many gallons are in the tank.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#424I've been seeing a lot of headlines the last month about demand for EVs falling. Of course, it could just be a PR campaign by Big Fossil, I'm not in a position to judge that. I had another idea about it and I'm wondering what other people think: by buying Twitter/X, Musk has waded deeply into the culture war, and we see on HN plenty of people who just can't stand to see his name. It seems a sizable community, could t…
From my experience, many Tesla fans don’t agree with Elon and that is okay with them.
I don't care for Elon Musk but Teslas are by far the best all around EV experience when considering road tripping.
That was true when we got our 2018 Model 3, and when we got our 2022 Model Y, and likely will be until full NACS adoption.
Will I consider another EV brand? Sure, but I also enjoy the Tesla infotainment and driving experience.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#425I've been seeing a lot of headlines the last month about demand for EVs falling. Of course, it could just be a PR campaign by Big Fossil, I'm not in a position to judge that. I had another idea about it and I'm wondering what other people think: by buying Twitter/X, Musk has waded deeply into the culture war, and we see on HN plenty of people who just can't stand to see his name. It seems a sizable community, could t…
Other possible reasons - We're in a recession (at least if you aren't upper middle class or above) - Dealers are still acting like there's a supply shortage, so prices are still up but lots are full - Everyone (pretty much) but tesla has commited to migrating to NACS, so if you buy a car now you'll need an adapter, and depending on where you are tesla's chargers are have half the speed if you're using the adapter (li…
> - We're in a recession (at least if you aren't upper middle class or above)
I'm sorry, what recession?
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/workers-paychecks-a...
> In the year ending in November, real wages grew by about 0.8 percent for all workers and 1.1 percent for the 80% of workers who are production and non-supervisory workers. Further, wage inequality fell. The ratio of wages at the 90th percentile compared to the 10th percentile fell by nearly 6 percent over the year.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2023/12/19/...
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1351276/wage-growth-vs-i...
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/strong-wage-growth-gave-ameri...
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#426Earlier quoted context omitted.
And they tend to be, along with needing less maintenance. Tesla, however, has a ludicrous parts system compared to any traditional car company, for parts that have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the car is using an electric powertrain. Ask for the cost of a new front bumper... it's not pretty. And as far as fender bender risk goes, it also doesn't help that a Tesla is, in practice, far more powerful at l…
> They are also probably unaccustomed to the car's behavior when you lift the gas pedal completely It's been at least 4 years since I drove an EV so I don't remember what they do. I expect the car to slow down and eventually come to a halt. I remember that I wasn't surprised by anything in particular so it's probably what it did. What do Teslas do?
> What do Teslas do?
Teslas do aggressive regen braking when you lift your foot. And it's not possible to disable that behavior, unlike other EVs.
So-called single pedal driving isn't very familiar to most drivers, making it unsuitable for rentals where users would prefer not having a learning curve.
Also if you ask the community how to disable regen braking you'll be told that you're driving it wrong, see:
https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/zswnhi/anyone_...
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/s3xy-buttons-regener...
https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/14r90q6/disabl...
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#427Earlier quoted context omitted.
Had an awesome experience with a Hertz Polestar in Italy last summer. The trim was basic, but the suspension was superior to a Tesla, especially on Italian roads. Road noise was average at highway speeds with the cheaper trim.
I had a mostly great experience with Hertz Polestar in Switzerland. Easy to drive, did well on the road. The most painful part of the experience was attempting to charge it before returning it. Finding a compatible, working L3 charger was very difficult, even in Zurich and the experience of downloading an app to start the charging process was terrible. It of course, didn't accept my non-Swiss credit card and I had a…
Eh, you could just have used a Tesla Supercharger
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#428Earlier quoted context omitted.
FWIW I rented an electric volvo in november and its built in map (displayed by default even if you weren't using its nav system, which I did not) displayed charger sites. As it happened my hotel had a charger in the parking garage and the valets plugged my car in for me. One anecdote does not data make, and I didn't know at the time of reservation that my hotel would be adequately equipped.
> my hotel had a charger in the parking garage and the valets plugged my car in for me So they just put the charging fee on your bill with the little bottles of gin from the minibar? I'm sure hotel power is reasonably priced...
It was included.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#429Earlier quoted context omitted.
FWIW I rented an electric volvo in november and its built in map (displayed by default even if you weren't using its nav system, which I did not) displayed charger sites. As it happened my hotel had a charger in the parking garage and the valets plugged my car in for me. One anecdote does not data make, and I didn't know at the time of reservation that my hotel would be adequately equipped.
Which city were you in?
Austin
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#430Earlier quoted context omitted.
Definitely Teslas became less attractive to a lot of people with Musks behavior in the last year. But also interest rates are up, and EV enthusiast market may be saturated, so now you have to win over just regular people.
I don't like Musk, but I am also under no illusion that CEOs of other major car companies are any better. They may just hide their opinions a little better than Musk. The reality is that Tesla aren't very good cars from both reliability, price and range perspective. Musk has done a brilliant job hyping the car, but reality starts setting in. For example, FSD will likely remain in beta for years.
> They may just hide their opinions a little better than Musk.
Isn't that better? Even if it's not /good/, it seems /better/.